Sir Henry Maine | |
|---|---|
 The young Maine | |
| Born | 15 August 1822 |
| Died | 3 February 1888 (aged 65) |
| Alma mater | Pembroke College, Cambridge |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | History, law |
| Institutions | University of Oxford University of Cambridge University of Calcutta |
| Signature | |
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Sir Henry James Sumner Maine, KCSI, FRS (15 August 1822 – 3 February 1888), was a British Whig[1] comparative jurist[2] and historian.[3] He is famous for the thesis outlined in his book Ancient Law that law and society developed "from status to contract."[4] According to the thesis, in the ancient world individuals were tightly bound by status dealing with(in) a particular group while in the modern one, in which individuals are viewed as autonomous agents, they are free to make contracts and form associations with whomever they choose. Because of this thesis, Maine can be seen as one of the forefathers of modern legal anthropology, legal history and sociology of law.
- ^ Bevir, Mark (2017). Historicism and the Human Sciences in Victorian Britain. Cambridge University Press. p. 5.
- ^ Pollock, Frederick (1893). "Sir H. Maine as a Jurist," The Edinburgh Review, Vol. 178, pp. 100–121.
- ^ Pollock 1911, p. 432.
- ^ Maine, Henry (1861). Ancient Law, Its Connection with the Early History of Society, and Its Relation to Modern Ideas (1 ed.). London: John Murray. p. 170.